British Teen Pregnant and Detained Abroad: What This Plea Deal Means for Justice and Sovereignty

When Bella May Culley, a pregnant 19-year-old from northeast England, was arrested at Tbilisi Airport in Georgia earlier this year carrying over a dozen kilograms of marijuana and hashish, her fate became a troubling example of how foreign legal systems can place vulnerable young people in precarious positions — often without the protections we expect for citizens aligned with Western values. On Monday, Culley was released after a Georgian court found her guilty but sentenced her only to the time already served—five months and 25 days. A hefty fine of approximately $184,000 was paid by her family as part of...